“Is that a challenge?” he told her. “Because I’m up for it. You want to make a bet on who can make a better dinner?”
“I’m not betting anything with you, idiot,” she bit off, and then glanced over at Cade and Daphne, mortified at her outburst. “Sorry,” she said, bringing her voice back down to a modulated, calm tone. “I’m just a bit frustrated.”
“So you don’t think I’m an idiot?” Reese teased at her side.
“I didn’t say that,” she said tightly.
Daphne sighed heavily and drank her water.
Cade pushed his plate aside and focused on his salad. “Well, the effort was appreciated nevertheless, Audrey. I appreciate you. Maybe it’ll taste better as leftovers.”
She beamed at him, feeling warm at his praise.
“Fuck leftovers,” Reese said. “Mine’s going in the garbage. The maggots can have it.”
Immediately, Daphne plunked her water glass down. Her face turned green and she bolted from the table.
Audrey cast a withering look at Reese as she got to her feet. “Can’t you watch your mouth for five minutes? Look what you’ve done.”
“I don’t know,” Reese said blandly. “I kind of think she did it to herself.”
Tamping down her outrage, Audrey followed Daphne through the lodge. She found Daphne huddled on the floor in the bathroom, her face in the toilet as she vomited. Audrey sat down next to her and pulled her twin’s stringy, dyed hair out of the way, rubbing her back as she threw up.
When nothing else seemed to be coming up, Daphne rested her cheek on the side of the toilet and gave a weak sigh. “I hate this.”
“I’m sorry,” Audrey said. “I wish I could help.”
“You can. Go to town and score me something. Just a little something to keep me going.”
“No, Daph—”
“Not much,” Daphne said, her voice desperate. “Just enough to take the worst of the edge off. It’ll help me cut free if I don’t feel quite so shitty.”
“I can’t. Even if I knew where to get drugs, I wouldn’t get it for you.” She shook her head. “I won’t do that to you.”
Daphne turned and gave her a vicious shove, knocking Audrey into the tub. “It’s your f**king fault,” she snarled. “I had enough drugs for this month and you f**king flushed them. You trying to kill me? I can’t go cold turkey.” She began to sob, laying her cheek back down on the side of the toilet as dry heaves began to take over her again. “I need my pills. I can’t do this.”
“It hasn’t even been a day yet, Daphne.” Audrey struggled upright and sat on the edge of the tub, then began to stroke Daphne’s back again. “Be strong.”
“If I was strong I wouldn’t be here,” Daphne sobbed. “Take me back to the city. Please. I’ve changed my mind.”
Hurt and despair welled up inside of Audrey. Daphne was giving up already? It hadn’t even been a full twenty-four hours and Daphne was determined to give up. This was just like every other time Daphne had tried to get clean. She’d talk a good game and then when things got difficult, she’d cave in. “If I take you back to the city, you’ll end up just like you were before,” Audrey whispered, her heart aching as she continued to stroke her twin’s back. Daphne was so thin she could feel every bump of her spine, and it made her want to weep with frustration.
If this didn’t work, her twin would die. It was only a matter of time before Daphne showed up on the cover of a tabloid with the headline “OVERDOSED.”
“I hate you,” Daphne cried. “I can’t do this.”
A shadow fell on the doorway, and Audrey looked up to see Cade standing there, a stricken look on his face. “Is she all right?”
“She’s fine,” Audrey began, only to be interrupted by Daphne’s retching cough, and then more dry heaves.
Cade knelt beside Daphne and brushed his fingers over her sunken cheek. “You okay, Daph? What do you need?”
“Need my pills,” she sobbed, making small whimpering noises in her throat. “Something. Anything. I hurt so bad.”
“What were you taking before you came here?” Cade asked her.
“Everything,” she wept.
Audrey felt sick to her stomach. What kind of trouble was her twin in?
“What did you need to have, though? Which ones could you not live without?”
“Coke,” Daphne sobbed, and wiped her running nose with the back of one hand. “And my pills.”
“What were your pills?”
“Xanax. I need them,” she said in a trembling voice. “They keep me calm.”
To Audrey’s horror, Cade produced a prescription pill bottle and held it out. As she watched, Daphne’s hands formed small claws and she reached for the drugs, only to have Cade hold them out of reach again. “Just one, Daphne.”
“Just one,” Daphne agreed, breathing heavily. She held her hands out, and Audrey was horrified to see how much they were shaking.
“Cade, no—” Audrey began, but he shook his head at her. She pursed her lips and sat in silence as Cade carefully fished one pill out and handed it to Daphne, who gobbled it down like it was candy. Then, she lay her cheek back down on the side of the toilet and sighed, closing her eyes.
Audrey was not so happy, though. “Can I talk to you, Cade?”
They left the bathroom and walked away a few feet, and Audrey had to clench her fists at her sides to keep from shaking him. “What are you doing, Cade? We brought her here to get clean!”
“I had a talk with her manager,” Cade said in a low, easy voice. “She’s been taking a lot of Xanax over the last year or two, and it’s dangerous to stop her cold turkey. Her manager keeps a supply at hand, and I talked with a few of my doctors about the side effects. They feel that weaning off her slowly is safer than stopping outright.” When Audrey continued to frown at him, he added, “I’ve also flown in my personal physician to stay at a nearby cabin in case we have any emergencies. I want what’s best for her, too, Audrey. You know I do.” He reached out and rubbed her shoulder. “Trust me.”
That hand caressing her through her sweater was so comforting. “I do trust you, Cade. I’m just . . . really concerned about her. It’s so hard to see.” A sudden rush of tears flooded to the surface, and she pressed her palms to her eyes. “I’m just so worried.”